Chapter 23
“Please don’t,” Arlo grumbles as he sips his cup of milk. Yes, milk. Arlo isn’t drinking tonight. Wearing his very best flannel and non-holey jeans, he looks handsome, and I can’t stop staring at him.
“Oh, don’t be shy, little brother,” Autumn shouts across the table, a turkey carcass sitting between us. “Tell them how you broke your ankle.”
“Why?” Arlo wipes off the milk in his moustache. “It’s hardly a story worth mentioning.”
“Oh no. It’s absolutely worth mentioning,” Seraphina counters.
Lark and I just watch in complete contentment as the siblings banter around the table. Arlo and Saffron sit at the head. Across from me, Lark sips her milk with barely a hint of the pie she consumed left on her plate.
Willow sits beside her. Autumn, Sera, and Paris are to my right with Robin. The empty chair between us…well, it’s occupied.
By Cooper. Saffron even got him a little bib to wear and made him a plate.
Apparently, the residents of Silent Springs take their pets seriously.
Kayden should have sat there, but he sat under the table with a collection of cars and army men.
Not a single one of us batted an eye, not even Robin as he slowly fed him strips of turkey that Cooper snatched out of his hands.
After my walk of shame, I made pie. For the first time in my life, I made pie.
I baked!
Granted, Saffron walked me through it, but it felt right, and I adored spending hours in the kitchen with her and Lark while Arlo dropped in every so often to steal a taste of food. He claimed he was the official taste tester, and not one of us disputed the fact, letting him enjoy his moment.
Thanksgiving began early with drinks in the parlor and little snack sandwiches.
Then, when Willow showed up after everyone else, we went straight to the dining room.
Willow isn’t what I expected. Observant and slightly shy, she’s been completely content to just listen to the banter and soak it in, throwing in little zingers that make all the Larson siblings chuckle.
She looks just like the rest of her siblings, but she’s a perfect combination of the twins.
Dark hair frames her delicate face, and she has those baby blue eyes they all possess.
She looks most like her mother, even dressing in a long, flowing skirt and lace top with a heavy scarf.
The atmosphere in the room swells with love and warmth, and I’m so glad Paris decided to celebrate. I don’t miss the little touches of assurance Robin gives her in comfort either.
“What do you say, Birdie?” Arlo nudges me back to the present, because clearly, I’m not living there right now.
“Tell them.” I sip my coffee and eye him over the rim. He stares at me for a moment, and his lips twitch.
“I broke my ankle on a sliding board,” he says with a dare and an arched brow.
I quickly swallow my coffee and just manage not to spit it all over him.
My brother guffaws. “How, man? Just how?”
“Well, it was one of those old sliding boards over by the pond, the slatted kind.” He rubs his thumb against his bottom lip, brushing away the last of his milk, and I picture him in a Santa Claus suit—I can’t unsee that now.
“My shoelace came loose and got caught in the slat, ripped my foot right out from under me.”
“And you make fun of me for being clumsy?” I point out, still picturing him in all red.
Maybe in just little red shorts… And now I’m blushing.
Abort all thoughts.
“Wren here broke her finger on a trash bag,” Robin says around a mouthful of pie. Saffron gave up on plates with him and shoved the pie pan under his hungry mug.
“She did,” Lark chimes in.
“Those ties are a hazard to everyone, and they should come with a warning label,” I grumble behind my cup of coffee.
“You are one of those people that big corporations put insane warning labels on their boxes for, aren’t you?” Willow questions, speaking up for the first time in a while.
“She really is,” Arlo agrees.
All around us, the banter picks up as I sip my coffee and just enjoy the moment.
“Hey.” Arlo nudges me under the table with his foot.
“Hey yourself,” I whisper back, feeling as though we are doing something naughty by speaking in a whisper.
“I have a surprise for you.”
I almost blurt out, “My car?” but I somehow refrain from doing just that. “Is it hot cocoa and whiskey?” Not like I need any more sugar, but it’s an addiction and I’m a slave to its deliciousness.
“Nope. Not hot cocoa.” For a moment, his eyes flicker to his mom, and a flash of vulnerability gleams in his eyes until she nods with a knowing grin.
Oh, he planned something. Dread and anxiety swims in my stomach like synchronized Olympic swimmers, and it is rather disconcerting.
The table becomes quiet, and yet Lark beams at me. Her red curls spill over her face, the edges dipping onto her pie plate.
“What is it?” I set my coffee cup down and look at everyone.
“When was the last time you took time for yourself?” Saffron begins, the others not meeting my gaze. They are letting the matriarch of the family speak, which means that whatever is about to go down, I won’t have much say in the matter.
“Depends. I did drive here from Georgia, and that was rather cathartic.” I drum my fingers on the table, waiting for one of the Larson siblings to fold, but they continue to avoid my gaze.
Except Arlo. Oh no, he looks smug.
“I’ll be right back.” Autumn stands, then darts down the hall. Her heavy steps thud on the stairs as she races up to the second floor.
“Bathroom.” Sera smiles with false saccharine sweetness.
She’s a viper with an angel’s smile, of that I’m sure.
Besides, there is a bathroom across the hall.
“What did you do?” I growl at Arlo, who has the audacity to look sheepish.
“Who, me?” He gasps in mock innocence. I’m not fooled.
I look at Robin, the blasphemous brother who pets Cooper like an evil villain. “Don’t look at me like that, Wren,” he says while his eyes flicker over to me. “It’ll be good for you.”
Autumn comes thudding down the steps and trudges into the dining room with my suitcase.
For a solid second, my veins flood with adrenaline and it takes everything in me not to freak out. Surely they wouldn’t be kicking me out. I mean, I know we spoke about Maine and us leaving once Arlo fixes up my bug…but…I didn’t think they’d kick me out so quickly.
I thought they wanted me here. A shiver racks my body as Autumn slumps back in her chair, but my eyes stay glued to the suitcase. They even packed it for me.
But Lark? I glance at Lark, who smiles back at me. I try to express my worry through my gaze because…
Because…I don’t want to leave. I want to stay. This place became my home, and I’m not ready to give it up.
“Relax, Mom, they aren’t kicking you out.” She winces. “Okay, they are kicking you out for the weekend.”
“Just two nights.” Arlo leans forward and grabs my hands. “What do you say, Birdie? Want to go on an adventure with me?”
I open and close my mouth. I can’t believe he did this in front of his family. For a moment, I’m offended, but then I realize he wasn’t just asking me, but Lark. I glance at her, seeing the smile on her face as she beams at me.
“You did this, didn’t you?”
She shrugs a delicate shoulder. “I take full responsibility for the idea, but Arlo came up with the plan.”
“Arlo Larson.” I turn to my devious knight in flannel armor. “This is rather presumptuous of you.”
“I had hope.” He clears his throat. “But if you think it’s too much, I can stay and give you the keys to drive to the destination by yourself.”
“This is not third date material.”
“I know. I skipped right to old married couple.” He winks at me as my jaw drops.
“She’s going.” Robin stands, lifts me from my chair, and sets me on my feet. “You haven’t taken a moment to yourself in thirteen years. I love you, but you are wound tighter than a tennis ball.”
“How is a tennis ball wound?” I tease, though I know he is right.
“The inside of them are nothing but rubber bands.” He waves the thought away. “You know what I mean.”
Somehow, I actually do. I pick up my fork, twirling the edge on the antique white tablecloth. “And Lark?”
“Is going to help me move in.” Robin winks at me, though we both know none of his stuff is even here yet.
I should be angry at him, at them, for redirecting my life and taking things out of my hands, but I once learned that if I didn’t take control of my life, then it would take control of me.
I ended up here, lost and without direction. Now I have a job, friends, and possibly something more with the man sitting beside me.
“All right.” I let my fork clatter to the plate, and everyone around me jumps at the sound. I walk over to Lark and give her a big backwards hug. Pointing at Robin, I say, “You and I will have a chat when I get back.”
“Go have fun for once in your life.” He tips his glass at me.
Without looking at anyone else, I meet Arlo’s gaze. “Ready?” I cock my head to the side, and without waiting for him to catch up, I saunter out to the foyer. I slip on my boots, grab my coat, and pick up my luggage. A few moments pass before I finally hear a chair scrape and Arlo sprints after me.
“After you, Birdie.” He opens the door for me like a perfect gentleman and not like he’s setting me up for a weekend of debauchery.
Wait… No, that isn’t what this is about.
Shaking my head, I skip out to the driveway, then skid to a stop. “Are we taking the tow truck?” I frown at the monstrous beast, then frown even harder at the thought of taking Saffron’s even older truck. It might fall apart on the way to our secret destination.
“No,” Arlo growls like a man beast before a chirp echoes in the air. “We are taking Sera’s girly Volvo.” He mocks the name as though it pains him.
“I hear these are very safe vehicles.”
“There’s lipstick in the center console.”
“It’s your sister’s car.”
“Just get in.”